Portfolio Jan 2012

ISLANDSOliver LeechUnit 16Berglund + MiasBartlett School of Architecture

Oliver Leech Unit 16

PATTERNRECOGNITIONAn analytical dissection and re-understanding of London to uncover a ‘second London’ - a new layer of the city existing within/above/below/around the existing city. The physical and non-physical collide to form a new way of understanding London.

PATTERNRECOGNITION

VeniceA city of islands.

London as archipelagoIn the same way that Venice is a

series of small islands surrounded by water, London becomes a series of small islands surounded by the

void of ‘missing information’.

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Islands

An average of 28 million individual passengers travel on the Underground network in London each year. Considering that the population of Greater London is only 14 million it is not only the residents of London but also tourists who use the tube as their main way of accessing the city.

Due to the sub-terranean nature of the network people have a diconnected relationship with the city, and as a result London becomes a series of detached islands centered around tube stations. The destination has no physical and visible connection with the departure point. Underground travel means that it becomes a challenge to orientate one’s self within the city.

The location of the tube stations alters the mental geography of the city with memories and experiences clustering around these transport nodes. In the same way that Venice is an archipelago of small islands, London becomes a series of detached urban islands - floating on a sea of unknown spaces, spaces that have not yet been experienced and so do not exist in the personal memory of the city.

LONDON ARCHIPELAGO

Mapping LondonMapping my journeys through London over the course of a month. The areas I have experienced have been overlaid over a

geographically accurate map. But this is not how the city exists in my memory. The underground lines connect these islands

of London but offer no way of orientating the islands within the greater London

archipelago.

Situationist Internationalclockwise from below:

‘Spectacle of the Society’ by Guy Debord - the seminal Situationist book;

Constant Nieuwenhuys ‘New Babylon Paris’;Guy Debord ‘The Naked City’.


Islands

The experience of London is always personal. London exists both as an object in space but also as a memory within the mind of each person who has experienced a part of London. And as memories are forged, lost, or half-forgotten, the city changes. As a result the London that exists in reality is very different from the London that we think exists.

I have mapped my personal experience of my London over the duration of a month, so that my second London - the one that exists in my memory - can be formed.

The Situationists were a revolutionary group based in Europe during the 50s and 60s. They developed ways of mapping spatial surroundings based on Pschyo-geography which Guy Debord defined as, “the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals.” In much the same way as my project, they were fascinated with how the pedestrian and the flaneur experience of the city, creating maps which revealed a new way of understanding their cities.

MAPPING LONDON

Describing New cities(left) Peter Gould and Rodney White, ‘Mental Maps’;

(right) Italo Calvino, ‘Invisible Cities’.

Mental LondonA new London begins to form. Dark lines

represent physical connections within the city and light lines represent the virtual

connections within and beyond the city. The BT Tower, St. Paul’s and The Shard are lighthouses

- directing the pedestrian.


Islands

The same journeys can be mapped, but from the memory of the city rather than from the accurate data of the city provided by existing maps. The result is that the islands become distorted and there is no way of understanding the dimensional qualities of the voids - the unknown spaces between the islands. The islands cluster together to form a strange archipelago of distant islands.

These physical journeys around the city are contrasted with the virtual connections made everyday with other objects, and other islands. Phone calls and messages can provide particular or vague data of their geographic location and these become part of the memory of the city - stretching and distorting it.

Tall buildings and towers become lighthouses in the sea of unknown, directing and orientating oneself within the known city.

THE MENTAL CITY

Time Travel

Central

Metropolitan

Jubilee

Victoria

Picadilly

District

Northern

Hammersmith & City

Bakerloo

East London

Circle

Station

Interchange

Scale in minutes

Copyright © 2004 by Oskar Karlin0 2 4 6 8 10

High Barnet

Totteridge & Whetstone

Woodside Park

West Finchley

Finchley Central

East Finchley

Highgate

Archway

Tufnell Park

Kentish Town

Edgware

Burnt Oak

Colindale

Hendon Central

Bent Cross

Golders Green

Hampstead

Belsize Park

Chalk Farm

Camden Town

Mornington Crescent

EustonEuston

WarrenStreetWarrenStreet

GoodgeStreet

TottenhamCourt RoadTottenham

Court Road

LeicesterSquare

LeicesterSquare

CharingCrossCharingCross

EmbankmentEmbankmentEmbankmentEmbankment

WaterlooWaterlooWaterloo

Lambeth North

Elephant& Castle

Regent’sPark

Baker StreetBaker StreetBaker StreetBaker StreetBaker Street

Marleybone

WarwickAvenue

Maida Vale

KilburnPark

Queen’s Park

Kensal Green

WillesdenJunction

Harlesden

StonebridgePark

WembleyCentral

North Wembley

South Kenton

Kenton

Harrow &Wealdstone

EdgwareRoad

Kennington

Oval

Stockwell

Clapham North

Clapham Common

Clapham South

Balham

Tooting Bec

Tooting Broadway

Colliers Wood

South Wimbledon

Morden

Stockwell

Brixton

Vauxhall

Pimlico

VictoriaVictoriaVictoria

St. James’sParkSt. James’sPark

WestministerWestminister

Green ParkGreen Park

PicadillyCircus

PicadillyCircus

OxfordCircus

Kings CrossKings CrossKings CrossKings CrossKings CrossKings Cross

Higbury & Islington

Finsbury ParkFinsbury Park

Cockfosters

Oakwood

Southgate

Arnos Grove

Bounds Green

Wood Green

Turnpike Lane

Manor House

Arsenal

CaledonianRoad

HollowayRoad

Seven Sisters TottenhamHale

BlackhorseRoad

WalthamstowCentral

Epping

Theydon Bois

Debden

Loughton

Buckhurst Hill

Woodford

Roding Valley

Chigwell Grange Hill

Hainault

Fairlop

Barkingside

Newbury Park

Gants GillRedbridge

Wanstead

Leytonstone

Snaresbrook

South Woodford

Leyton

StratfordMile EndMile EndMile EndBethnal Green

LiverpoolStreetLiverpoolStreetLiverpoolStreetLiverpoolStreet

BankBank

LondonBridgeLondonBridge

Elephant& Castle

Borough

MonumentMonument

Aldgate East

Tower HillTower Hill

Aldgate East

St. Paul’s

ChanceryLane

HolbornHolbornBondStreetBondStreet

MarbleArch

LancasterGate

Queensway

NottingHill GateNottingHill GateNottingHill Gate

Holland Park

Shepherd’sBush

White CityEast Acton

NorthActon

West ActonNorth Ealing

Acton TownActon Town

Barons CourtBarons Court

West KensingtonEarls CourtEarls Court

SouthKensingtonSouthKensingtonSouthKensington

GloucesterRoadGloucesterRoadGloucesterRoad

Sloan SquareSloan Square

KnightsbridgeHyde Park

Corner

CoventGarden

RusselSquare

Angel

Old Street

South EalingNorthfields

Boston Manor

Osterley

Hounslow EastHounslow

Central

HounslowWestHatton Cross

HeathrowTerminal 4

HeathrowTerminals

1,2,3

Chiswick Park Stamford Brook

RavenscourtPark

Turnham Green

Gunnersbury

Kew Gardens

Richmond

Wimbledon

Wimbledon Park

Southfields

East Putney

Putney Bridge

Parsons Green

Fulham Broadway

West Brompton

Park RoyalHanger Lane

Perivale

Greenford

Northholt

South Ruislip

Ruislip Gardens

West RuislipRuislipRuislip

Ruislip ManorRuislip Manor

EastcoteEastcote

Rayners LaneRayners Lane

West Harrow

Harrow-on-the-hill

NorthwickPark

PrestonRoad

North Harrow

Pinner

NorthwoodHillsNorthwoodMoor ParkRickmansworthChorleywoodChalfont & Latimer

Chesham

Amersham

South Harrow

Sudbury Hill

Sudbury Town

Alperton

HillindgonHillindgon

IckenhamIckenham

UxbridgeUxbridge

Ealing BroadwayEaling Broadway

Shepherd’sBush

StratfordOxfordCircus

Mill Hill East

Watford

Croxley

Wembley ParkWembley Park

Kingsbury

Neasden

Dollis Hill Willesden Green

Kilburn

West Hampstead

Swiss Cottage

St. John’s Wood

Queensbury

Canons Park

Stanmore

Finchley RoadFinchley Road

Edgware RoadEdgware RoadEdgware Road

PaddingtonPaddingtonPaddingtonPaddington

BayswaterBayswater

Royal Oak

Westbourne Park

Ladbroke Grove

Latimer Road

HammersmithHammersmithHammersmith High StreetKensingtonHigh StreetKensington

GreatPortlandStreet

GreatPortlandStreet

GreatPortlandStreet

EustonSquareEustonSquareEustonSquare

FarringdonFarringdonFarringdonBarbicanBarbicanBarbican

MoorgateMoorgateMoorgateMoorgate

AldgateAldgate

Shoreditch

WhitechapelWhitechapelWhitechapel

Bow RoadBow Road

Bromley-by-bowBromley-by-bow

West HamWest Ham

PlaistowPlaistow Upton ParkUpton Park

East HamEast Ham

BarkingBarking

Upney

Becontree

DagenhamHeathway

DagenhamEast

Elm Park

Hornchurch

UpministerBridge

Upminister

West Ham

Canning Town

North Greenwich

Canary Wharf

Stepney GreenStepney Green

Shadwell

Wapping

Rotherhithe

Surrey Quays

New CrossNew Cross Gate

CanadaWater

CanadaWater

Bermondsey

Southwark

TempleTemple BlackfriarsBlackfriars

MansionHouse

MansionHouse

CannonStreet

CannonStreet

High Barnet


Woodside Park

West Finchley

Finchley Central

East Finchley

Highgate

Archway

Tufnell Park

Kentish Town

Edgware

Burnt Oak

Colindale

Hendon Central

Bent Cross

Golders Green

Hampstead

Belsize Park

Chalk Farm

Camden Town

Mornington Crescent

EustonEuston

WarrenStreetWarrenStreet

GoodgeStreet

TottenhamCourt RoadTottenham

Court Road

LeicesterSquare

LeicesterSquare

CharingCrossCharingCross

EmbankmentEmbankmentEmbankmentEmbankment

WaterlooWaterlooWaterloo

Lambeth North

Elephant& Castle

Regent’sPark

Baker StreetBaker StreetBaker StreetBaker StreetBaker Street

Marleybone

WarwickAvenue

Maida Vale

KilburnPark

Queen’s Park

Kensal Green

WillesdenJunction

Harlesden

StonebridgePark

WembleyCentral

North Wembley

South Kenton

Kenton

Harrow &Wealdstone

EdgwareRoad

Kennington

Oval

Stockwell

Clapham North

Clapham Common

Clapham South

Balham

Tooting Bec

Tooting Broadway

Colliers Wood

South Wimbledon

Morden

Stockwell

Brixton

Vauxhall

Pimlico

VictoriaVictoriaVictoria

St. James’sParkSt. James’sPark

WestministerWestminister

Green ParkGreen Park

PicadillyCircus

PicadillyCircus

OxfordCircus

Kings CrossKings CrossKings CrossKings CrossKings CrossKings Cross

Higbury & Islington

Finsbury ParkFinsbury Park

Cockfosters

Oakwood

Southgate

Arnos Grove

Bounds Green

Wood Green

Turnpike Lane

Manor House

Arsenal

CaledonianRoad

HollowayRoad

Seven Sisters TottenhamHale

BlackhorseRoad

WalthamstowCentral

Epping

Theydon Bois

Debden

Loughton

Buckhurst Hill

Woodford

Roding Valley

Chigwell Grange Hill

Hainault

Fairlop

Barkingside

Newbury Park

Gants GillRedbridge

Wanstead

Leytonstone

Snaresbrook

South Woodford

Leyton

StratfordMile EndMile EndMile EndBethnal Green

LiverpoolStreetLiverpoolStreetLiverpoolStreetLiverpoolStreet

BankBank

LondonBridgeLondonBridge

Elephant& Castle

Borough

MonumentMonument

Aldgate East

Tower HillTower Hill

Aldgate East

St. Paul’s

ChanceryLane

HolbornHolbornBondStreetBondStreet

MarbleArch

LancasterGate

Queensway

NottingHill GateNottingHill GateNottingHill Gate

Holland Park

Shepherd’sBush

White CityEast Acton

NorthActon

West ActonNorth Ealing

Acton TownActon Town

Barons CourtBarons Court

West KensingtonEarls CourtEarls Court

SouthKensingtonSouthKensingtonSouthKensington

GloucesterRoadGloucesterRoadGloucesterRoad

Sloan SquareSloan Square

KnightsbridgeHyde Park

Corner

CoventGarden

RusselSquare

Angel

Old Street

South EalingNorthfields

Boston Manor

Osterley

Hounslow EastHounslow

Central

HounslowWestHatton Cross

HeathrowTerminal 4

HeathrowTerminals

1,2,3

Chiswick Park Stamford Brook

RavenscourtPark

Turnham Green

Gunnersbury

Kew Gardens

Richmond

Wimbledon

Wimbledon Park

Southfields

East Putney

Putney Bridge

Parsons Green

Fulham Broadway

West Brompton

Park RoyalHanger Lane

Perivale

Greenford

Northholt

South Ruislip

Ruislip Gardens

West RuislipRuislipRuislip

Ruislip ManorRuislip Manor

EastcoteEastcote

Rayners LaneRayners Lane

West Harrow

Harrow-on-the-hill

NorthwickPark

PrestonRoad

North Harrow

Pinner

NorthwoodHillsNorthwoodMoor ParkRickmansworthChorleywoodChalfont & Latimer

Chesham

Amersham

South Harrow

Sudbury Hill

Sudbury Town

Alperton

HillindgonHillindgon

IckenhamIckenham

UxbridgeUxbridge

Ealing BroadwayEaling Broadway

Shepherd’sBush

StratfordOxfordCircus

Mill Hill East

Watford

Croxley

Wembley ParkWembley Park

Kingsbury

Neasden

Dollis Hill Willesden Green

Kilburn

West Hampstead

Swiss Cottage

St. John’s Wood

Queensbury

Canons Park

Stanmore

Finchley RoadFinchley Road

Edgware RoadEdgware RoadEdgware Road

PaddingtonPaddingtonPaddingtonPaddington

BayswaterBayswater

Royal Oak

Westbourne Park

Ladbroke Grove

Latimer Road

HammersmithHammersmithHammersmith High StreetKensingtonHigh StreetKensington

GreatPortlandStreet

GreatPortlandStreet

GreatPortlandStreet

EustonSquareEustonSquareEustonSquare

FarringdonFarringdonFarringdonBarbicanBarbicanBarbican

MoorgateMoorgateMoorgateMoorgate

AldgateAldgate

Shoreditch

WhitechapelWhitechapelWhitechapel

Bow RoadBow Road

Bromley-by-bowBromley-by-bow

West HamWest Ham

PlaistowPlaistow Upton ParkUpton Park

East HamEast Ham

BarkingBarking

Upney

Becontree

DagenhamHeathway

DagenhamEast

Elm Park

Hornchurch

UpministerBridge

Upminister

West Ham

Canning Town

North Greenwich

Canary Wharf

Stepney GreenStepney Green

Shadwell

Wapping

Rotherhithe

Surrey Quays

New CrossNew Cross Gate

CanadaWater

CanadaWater

Bermondsey

Southwark

TempleTemple BlackfriarsBlackfriars

MansionHouse

MansionHouse

CannonStreet

CannonStreet

River Thames

A

B

C

D

E

F

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 2 3 4 5 76 8 9

A

B

C

D

E

F

2 2

22

2

5

8 8 6

2

4

4

65

41

3

2

43

3

36 3 1

1

3

3

59 7 7Special fares apply

5

5

4

4

4

AmershamChorleywood

Mill Hill East

Rickmansworth

Perivale

KentishTown West

CamdenRoad

Dalston Kingsland

Wanstead Park

Vauxhall

Hanger Lane

Edgware

Burnt Oak

Colindale

Hendon Central

Brent Cross

Golders Green

WestSilvertown

EmiratesRoyal Docks

EmiratesGreenwichPeninsula Pontoon Dock

LondonCity Airport

WoolwichArsenal

King George V

Hampstead

Belsize Park

Chalk Farm

Chalfont &Latimer

Chesham

New Cross Gate

Moor Park

NorthwoodNorthwoodHills

Pinner

North Harrow

Custom House for ExCeL

Prince Regent

Royal Albert

Beckton Park

Cyprus

GallionsReach

Beckton

Watford

Croxley

Fulham Broadway

LambethNorth

HeathrowTerminal 4

Harrow-on-the-Hill

KensalRise

BethnalGreen

Westferry

SevenSisters

Blackwall

BrondesburyPark

HampsteadHeath

HarringayGreen Lanes

LeytonstoneHigh Road

LeytonMidland Road

Hackney Central

NorthwickPark

PrestonRoad

RoyalVictoria

WembleyPark

Rayners Lane

Watford High Street

RuislipGardens

South Ruislip

Greenford

Northolt

South Harrow

Sudbury Hill

Sudbury Town

Alperton

Pimlico

Park Royal

North Ealing

Acton Central

South Acton

Ealing Broadway

Watford Junction

West Ruislip

Bushey

Carpenders Park

Hatch End

North Wembley

West Brompton

Ealing Common

South Kenton

Kenton

Wembley Central

Kensal Green

Queen’s Park

Gunnersbury

Kew Gardens

Richmond

Stockwell

Bow Church

Stonebridge Park

Harlesden

Camden Town

Willesden Junction

Headstone Lane

Parsons Green

Putney Bridge

East Putney

Southfields

Wimbledon Park

Wimbledon

Island Gardens

Greenwich

Deptford Bridge

South Quay

Crossharbour

Mudchute

Heron Quays

West India Quay

Elverson Road

Oakwood

Cockfosters

Southgate

Arnos Grove

Bounds Green

Theydon Bois

Epping

Debden

Loughton

Buckhurst Hill

WalthamstowQueen’s Road

Woodgrange Park

Leytonstone

Leyton

Wood Green

Turnpike Lane

Manor House

Stanmore

Canons Park

Queensbury

Kingsbury

High Barnet


Woodside Park

West Finchley

Finchley CentralWoodford

South Woodford

Snaresbrook

Hainault

Fairlop

Barkingside

Newbury Park

East Finchley

Highgate

Archway

Devons Road

Langdon Park

All Saints

Tufnell Park

Kentish Town

Neasden

Dollis Hill

Willesden Green

South Tottenham

Swiss Cottage

ImperialWharf

Brixton

Kilburn

West Hampstead

Blackhorse Road

Acton Town

CanningTown

Finchley Road

Highbury &Islington

Canary Wharf

Stratford

StratfordInternational

FinsburyPark

Elephant & Castle

Stepney Green

Barking

East Ham

Plaistow

Upton Park

Poplar

West Ham

Upper Holloway

PuddingMill Lane

Kennington

Borough

Elm ParkDagenham

East

DagenhamHeathway

Becontree

Upney

Heathrow Terminal 5

Finchley Road& Frognal

Crouch Hill

Northfields

Boston Manor

South Ealing

Osterley

Hounslow Central

Hounslow East

Clapham North

Oval

Clapham Common

Clapham South

Balham

Tooting Bec

Tooting Broadway

Colliers Wood

South Wimbledon

Arsenal

Holloway Road

Caledonian Road

Morden

West Croydon

HounslowWest

Hatton Cross

HeathrowTerminals 1, 2, 3

ClaphamJunction

WestHarrow

Brondesbury CaledonianRoad &

Barnsbury

TottenhamHale

WalthamstowCentral

HackneyWick

Homerton

WestActon

Limehouse EastIndia

Crystal Palace

ChiswickPark

RodingValley

GrangeHill

Chigwell

Redbridge

GantsHill

Wanstead

NorthGreenwich

for The O2

Ickenham

TurnhamGreen

Uxbridge

Hillingdon Ruislip

GospelOak

Mile End

Bow Road

Bromley-by-Bow

Upminster

Upminster Bridge

Hornchurch

Norwood Junction

Sydenham

Forest Hill

Anerley

Penge West

Honor Oak Park

Brockley

Harrow &Wealdstone

Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich

Ruislip Manor

Eastcote

Wapping

Shadwell

New Cross

CanadaWater

Surrey Quays

Whitechapel

Lewisham

Kilburn Park

Regent’s Park

KilburnHigh Road

EdgwareRoad

SouthHampstead

GoodgeStreet

Shepherd’s BushMarket

Goldhawk Road

Hammersmith

Bayswater

Warren Street

Aldgate

Euston

Farringdon

BarbicanRussellSquare

Kensington(Olympia)

MorningtonCrescent

High StreetKensington

Old Street

St. John’s Wood

Green Park

BakerStreet

NottingHill Gate

Victoria

AldgateEast

Blackfriars

Mansion House

Cannon Street

OxfordCircus

BondStreet

TowerHill

Westminster

PiccadillyCircus

CharingCross

Holborn

Tower Gateway

Monument

Moorgate

Leicester Square

London Bridge

St. Paul’s

Hyde Park Corner

Knightsbridge

StamfordBrook

RavenscourtPark

WestKensington

NorthActon

HollandPark

Marylebone

Angel

Queensway MarbleArch

SouthKensington

Earl’sCourt

SloaneSquare

Covent Garden

LiverpoolStreet

GreatPortland

Street

Bank

EastActon

ChanceryLane

LancasterGate

Warwick AvenueMaida Vale

Fenchurch Street

Paddington

BaronsCourt

GloucesterRoad St. James’s

Park Temple

Latimer Road

Ladbroke Grove

Royal Oak

Westbourne Park

Bermondsey

Rotherhithe

ShoreditchHigh Street

Dalston Junction

Haggerston

Hoxton

Wood Lane

Shepherd’sBush

WhiteCity

King’s CrossSt. Pancras

EustonSquareEdgware

Road

Southwark

Embankment

Stratford High Street

Abbey Road

Star Lane

Waterloo

TottenhamCourt Road

Canonbury

Under

constr

uction

This diagram is an evolution of the original design conceived in 1931 by Harry BeckCorrect at time of going to print, December 2011

Transport for LondonMAYOR OF LONDON

Transport for London

Check before you travel

Key to lines

Metropolitan

Victoria

Circle

Central

Bakerloo

DLR

London Overground

Piccadilly

Waterloo & City

Jubilee

Hammersmith & City

Northern

DistrictDistrict open weekends, public holidays and some Olympia events

Emirates Air·Line Under construction

Bank Waterloo & City line open 0621-2148 Mondays to Fridays and 0802-1837 Saturdays. Closed Sundays and Public Holidays--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Blackfriars For reopening date see Planned Closures posters at stations--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Camden Town Sunday 1300-1730 open for interchange and exit only--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Canary Wharf Step-free interchange between Underground, Canary Wharf DLR and Heron Quays DLR stations at street level--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cannon Street Open until 2100 Mondays to Fridays. Closed Saturdays and Sundays--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Emirates Fare zone to be confirmedGreenwich Peninsula --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Emirates Fare zone to be confirmed Royal Docks--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Heron Quays Step-free interchange between Heron Quays and Canary Wharf Underground station at street level--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hounslow West Step-free access for wheelchair users only--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shadwell DLR due to become step-free in January 2012 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Turnham Green Served by Piccadilly line trains early mornings and late evenings only--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Waterloo Waterloo & City line open 0615-2141 Mondays to Fridays and 0800-1831 Saturdays. Closed Sundays and Public Holidays--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------West India Quay Not served by DLR trains from Bank towards Lewisham before 1900 on Mondays to Fridays

Tube map

Parsons Green

Notting HillGate

EdgwareRoad


EarlsCourt

ImperialWharf

WestBrompton

GloucesterRoad

Regent’sPark

GoodgeStreet

WarrenStreet

CamdenTown

King’s Cross

CaledonianRoad

Finsbury Park

RussellSquare

OxfordCircus

GreenPark

Bond Street

LeicesterSquare

Bank

Moorgate

Holborn

Piccadilly Circus

Victoria

SloaneSquare

ManorHouse

FulhamBroadway

Distorted LondonA London based on personal experiecnes

and not confined by conventional ‘rules’ of map-making. It becomes naturally

instinctive and personal.


IslandsDISTORTED CITY

The tube network creates a distortion of the city, and this is increased by the visual representation of the network. The real London is lost in the manipulation of the city.

Every time the London underground network is represented - certain rules apply. The original tube map distorts the centre of London to make is more legible and connections more clear. Time-based rules can also be applies to the map. It becomes even more unrecognisable when the true geography of the city is applied.

When these rules have gone, one can only rely on the personal London that exists in the memory for reference. This creates a new distorted representation of the city, but perhaps more familiar and personal.

PARSONSGREEN

FULHAMBROADWAY

WESTBROMPTON

EARLSCOURT

GLOUCESTERROAD

SOUTHKENSINGTON

Time map by Vincent Meertens Mapping the Netherlands with time rather

than distance.

London twitter mapMapping twitter activity (or events) in London

to reveal the hidden city

Testing the ideaEach place is connected to an experience

of that place. Still based on the accurate geography of London, this map draws from

the conditions of each events with colours representing the personal experience of the time, space, weather, architecture, noise,

smell and mood. This was a test image that was later developed to draw on my experiences for

the whole of London.


Islands

A new London based on memories is a London based on time. Memories are time based as they can relate to events - not just spaces. So London now becomes a series of events. And the more these events take place, the more they grow within the memory which can affect the understanding of the spatial geometries of the city.Since the new London is based on a series of events, the new city will be affected by the conditions at the time of these events. One memory island may only every exist at night, while some have only ever existed once, and others many times, always at day but only ever briefly encountered.These conditions not only affect the memories of the place, but they distort the spatial, and dimensional qualites. We understand our surrounding geography through time and memories, not through distances - using minutes rather than kilometres to describe distance.

SPACE-TIME MAPS

PARSONSGREEN

FULHAMBROADWAY

HIGH STREETKENSINGTON

NOTTING HILLGATE

REGENT’S PARK

CALEDONIAN ROAD

WARRENSTREET

RUSSELL SQUARE

BOND STREET

LEICESTER SQUARE

MOORGATE


IslandsCONNECTED LONDON


Islands

Sir Niklaus Pevnsner once wrote: “The city is a device that choreographs the movement of a subject.”

This new London attempts to reverse that opinion. Instead it is the movement of a person that choreographs the city, or the person which choreographs the movement of the city.

The models explore the concept of time within a city and how this can alter the memory and geography of the city. The more time spent in a place the taller the model. This distorts the sense of hierarchy within the city, giving more significance to the places where more time is spent rather than the type of place.

MENTAL LONDON - MODEL #1


IslandsMENTAL LONDON - MODEL #1

A Rational LondonUsing the ‘island of Fulham’ as a

prototype, the city is manipulated and rationalised the make it more legible, to

recreate the London that exists in the personalised memory.

Geographically accurate map Define moves Shift|Align|Rotate|Shrink|Enlarge Psycho-geographical map


IslandsRATIONALISING THE CITY

Places and geographies do not exist in our mind in the same way that they exist in real life. Our brains are not capable of containing all the information like a map does. Instead we rank objects and events into a perceived order of importance. And we rationalise the city, to make it more accessible more legible and more understandable. For instance, the Thames bends north at Fulham yet, due to the nature of the road networks and the alignment of the houses, we rationalise the city, and in our pschyo-geographical map the Thames becomes straightened, running west to east.

Parsons Green

Notting HillGate

EdgwareRoad


EarlsCourt

ImperialWharf

WestBrompton

GloucesterRoad

Regent’sPark

GoodgeStreet

WarrenStreet

CamdenTown

King’s Cross

CaledonianRoad

Finsbury Park

RussellSquare

OxfordCircus

GreenPark

Bond Street

LeicesterSquare

Bank

Moorgate

Holborn

PiccadillyCircus

Victoria

SloaneSquare

ManorHouse

FulhamBroadway


IslandsSECOND LONDON

200+ hours

150 hours

100 hours

50 hours

30 hours

15 hours

10 hours

5 hours

2 hours

1 hour

30 mins

10 mins

5 mins

0


Islands

Once the two-dimensional London has been re-rationalised and created, the other key variable can create a three-dimensional new London - time.The time spent on each island and in each building was measured more accurately. The scale is logarithmic scale as this represents the way that memories are stored more accurately. The more time spent in one place creates a more significant memory but new places and new experiences also create significant memories and so are given more weight on the scale.The underground connections are visible underneath the second London and reveal the hidden city beneath the architecture.

MENTAL LONDON


IslandsMENTAL LONDON








Islands

The limitation that the model as a standalone object posed was the aspect of time - and the changing aspect of time. It only reveals a static city from only one point in time.The film reveals the changing city as a process. As events happen, memories are created and the islands of London grow. But as history disappears from memory, the islands start to disappear back into the unknown.

MENTAL LONDON - FILM

chelsea and westminster hospital

the nellie dean of soho

barbican arts centre

wanchai. chinatown

the lamb and flag

12b endymion road

pleasance theatre

the finsbury

art london. chelsea

rose and crown

112 townmead road

the sands end

leicester square

manor house

caledonian road

russell square

piccadilly circus

bond street

sloane square

regents park

goodge street

warren street

camden town

imperial wharf

high street kensingtonnotting hill gate

edgware road

fulham broadway

ucl main building

the churchill arms

57 portland place


IslandsSECOND LONDON - FILM


“In the archipelago, the islands don’t define the milieu but the space in between: the routes, the streams, the currents and counter currents, whirpools and calms. This is the space of countless lines of lights intersecting, converging, creating temporary assemblages. This is the multitude.

“We are not islands, but the surrounding ocean. Islands are homogenic, stratified and sedimented, the sea heterogenic, smooth and in constant change. The islands are chartered, but the ocean is only modelled or approached according to the law of averages or pattern recognition.”

Foucault’s Sleep, Models for a Proposal.

TERRA INCOGNITA

Locating DowntownThe commerical centre of the city, seperated from Bayfront Park by an

eight-lane highway

Locating MiamiMiami is located on the tip of the Florida

peninsular, a short distance from the Bahamas.


IslandsLOCATING DOWNTOWN

Miami’s ‘two cities’The Biscayne Wall provides the backdrop to the Miami that is seen on postcards

but the glittering financial district only masks the reality of Downtown.

Opportunity AreaThe car parks along Biscayne Boulevard

disconnect the tall skyscrapers from Bayfront Park creating an auto-centric

town centre.


Islands

The proposal aims to inhabit the space between the towering structures of Miami’s Downtown financial buildings and the sprawling but underused Bayfront Park and waterfront. Biscayne Boulevard has eight lanes of traffic - four in each direction - with public car parks in the space left over between them. This becomes a huge obstacle for pedestrians who would want to use the park and waterfront facilities. The avenue of vehicles effectively splits Downtown into two at ground level and the Biscayne Wall creates a visual barrier to the city. The proposal attempts to solve this problem to create a single Downtown that can be enjoyed by people at every level of the city by reconnecting the horizontal strata that exists within the city - connecting the skyscrapers, the mid-levels and ground level.

THE BISCAYNE BLUNDER

Three layers of the citySkyscrapers, mid-levels & ground level


Islands

Miami is a city made up of three distinct layers. The skyscrapers dominate the skyline and becoming islands separated from the rest of the city. The ground-level is dominated by cars with limited opportunity for pedestrians. The layer between these two - the mid-levels - is a city of roofscapes and the metro-mover.There is little vertical interaction between these three layers. The city becomes stratified and the proposal will reverse that to integrate all the levels to create a better experience for the pedestrian.

HORIZONTAL LAYERS OF THE CITY


Islands

A short film exploring the relationship between the different layers of the city and the relationship between the pedestrian and the car throughtout the day in Downtown Miami.

DOWNTOWN - A SHORT FILM

The site straddles the gap between the enormous skyscrapers of Biscayne Boulevard and the sprawling and underused Bayfront Park.


IslandsBAYFRONT PARK

Bayfront ParkHistoric Photos

Bayfront Park1983

Doxiadis Plan1966 Doxiadis Plan for the Bayfront area

with extensive pedestrianisation.


Islands

The Bayfront Area to the east of Biscayne Boulevard has a short but interesting history. In the 1960s the mayor of Miami led the redevelopment of the area, expanding the park outwards and increasing the traffic flow along Biscayne Boulevard. The Doxiadis Plan for the Bayfront was never realised but attempted to link the buildings and the park with a series of pedestrian walkways.

BAYFRONT HISTORY

Potential Masterplan Site Metromover and stations Primary and Secondary Vehicular Routes Biscayne Boulevard Pedestrian Crossings Public Car Parking Tall Buildings

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10 1112

1314

151617

18

Miami’s Tall Buildings1. The Loft Downtown | 2006 | 23/F | 84m

2. Everglade on the Bay North Tower | 2008 | 49/F | 164m3. Everglade on the Bay South Tower | 2008 | 49/F | 164m

4. The Loft 2 | 2007 | 35/F | 132m5. Congress Building | 1922 | 19/F | 68.6m

6. New World Tower | 1965 | 30/F | 109m7. 50 Biscayne | 2007 | 55/F | 168.9m

8. Sun Trust International | 1973 | 31/F | 114.0m9. One Biscayne Tower | 1972 | 40/F | 150m

10. Wachovia Financial Centre | 1984 | 55/F | 232.8m11. Miami Centre | 1983 | 34/F | 147.5m

12. Hotel Intercontinental Miami | 1982 | 34/F | 102.4m13. One Miami East Tower | 2005 | 44/F | 140.2m14. One Miami West Tower | 2005 | 45/F | 136.9m

15. Met 1 | 2007 | 40/F | 134.1m16. Met 2 | 2010 | 31/F | 111.9m

17. Met 2 Office | 2010 | 46/F | 197.2m18. Epic Residences & Hotel | 2009 | 54/F | 152.4m


IslandsSITE DIAGRAMS

Massing StudiesThe series of buildings will connect the three horizontal

layers of the city and so it is important the the proposal creates a vertical relationship with all three layers but

must also be sympathetic to the existing heights of Downtown


Islands

Taken from ideas developed in London, memory is an important way of experiencing, rationalising and understanding the city.

Over half the skyscrapers in Downtown were built after 2000 resulting in a city which is very modern and has very little history. There is very little industry in the city - people came not to make their fortunes but to spend their fortunes and a large proportion of the population are immigrants who have settled in Florida during the last 30 years. The result is a city without a memory.

THE CITY WITHOUT MEMORY


Islands

The lifeguard outposts of Miami stretch eight miles from South Beach to Bal Harbour and represents a Miamian ‘style’- the antithesis of Downtown which is a generic international financial centre.This very particlar Miami vernacular can be transported from the beaches to Downtown to create a new Miamian identity.

The outposts also represent a temporal architecture. Every year during the hurricane season, the huts destroyed, damaged, rebuilt and repainted. And during the day they change and adapt to the conditions - opening and closing their skins for the wind, rain, and sun. They contrast to the permanence of Downtown Miami.

LIFEGUARD OUTPOSTS


Islands

“A souvenir... is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. The term souvenir brings to mind the mass-produced kitsch that is the main commodity of souvenir and gift shops in many tourist traps around the world. But a souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveller. The object itself has no real significance other than the psychological connection the possessor has with the object as a symbol of past experience. Without the owner’s input, the object’s meaning is invisible and cannot be articulated.” Wikipedia

The souvenir is a found object from Downtown - a piece of metal from a car which had been discarded on the pedestrian sidewalk representing the complete dominance of the vehicle in Downtown.The concrete plinth represents both literally the concrete jungle of Downtown and the horizontal strata of the city but also contrasts with the ephemeral nature of memories. The lightweight structure (or memory architecture) hurdles the car and represents the potential new hierarchy where pedestrians become more important.

SOUVENIR


IslandsSOUVENIR

Model in-progress


Islands

Model in progress exploring ideas of materiality. The foam sections will be cast in concrete and embedded with wire supporting a lightweight, transparent structure.

MATERIALITY

Biscayne Boulevard

Biscayne Boulevard Way

SE 3rd Street

SE 2nd Street

SE 1st Street

Flagler Street

NE 1st Street

NE 2nd Street

NE 3rd Street

NE 4th Street

Site section across Biscayne Boulevard looking east

Exploring the height relationships with the existing buildings

[dotted skyscraper under construction]


IslandsSITE SECTION

Flagler Street(main pedestrian route)

Pedestrian access toAmerican Airlines Arena

Bayside Marketplaceshops and restaurants

1.ShopsRestaurantsBarsAudio outpostsCar parking

2.ShopsRestaurantsBarsOutdoor public spaceCar parkingOrientation towers

3.ShopsProjectionsAudio outpostsCar parking

4.Medium screening rooms (3-5 people)Large screening rooms (10 people)Orientation towersAudio boothsOutdoor projections

6.Auditorium (80 people)Public screening spacesSmall screening booths (1&2 people)Orientation towersShort-term memory projections (twitter wall)

6.Main entrance/reception for memory centreOffice for memory centreGallery spacesArchive roomsConnections to tall buildingsCar parking

7.New Bayfront Park metro stationProjection screensConnections to tall buildingsOffices

Miamarina

Bayfront Park amphitheatre

Miami memory archive

Bayfront Park Station


IslandsSITE PLAN

Applying architecture to the film sequenceUsing the souvenir model to suggest a

potential new architecture for the site


IslandsPROPOSING AN ARCHITECTURE

Memory is a key driving force behind the programming of the site. The proposal aims to create a place where memory could be deposited, archived, viewed and discussed - a public building which allows people to understand the personal histories and memories of the Miamians. Memories of the same event could be viewed simultaneously to give new interpretations of history.

Miami Memory Archive[DR]

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45

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1. Restaurants2. Gallery3. Audio booths4. Large screening room (10 people)5. Public facilites6. Parking7. Small screening rooms (2-5 people)

8. Archive9. Small screening rooms (1 person)10. Bars11. Outdoor projections12. Auditorium (80 people)

13. Memory archive offices14. Archive15. Main entrance to memory archive16. Archive public facilities17. Gallery Spaces18. Parking19. Outdoor public film screening


IslandsMIAMI MEMORY ARCHIVE

The three main themes: horizontal layers of the city, pedestrian vs. cars and memory all converge to a central theme: time.

Time is engrained is one’s experience of a city, it affects the way we percieve and understand it. Pevnsner’s quote,‘the city is a device that choreographs the movement of a subject.’ can be reversed to read ‘the subject is a device that choreographs the city’. And this can also be applied to architecture - time defines the way that the buildings will be experienced, by cars, pedestrians, over days and over years.

23h-05h

10h-5h

12h-10hr

19h-24h

0400hr

2015

2020

2030

2040

2050

2000hr

1600hr

1200hr

0800hr

0500hr

05h-24h

11hr-16hr

8hr-15hr

10hr-18hr

00mins

vehicles pedestrians

opening hours01mins

02mins

03mins

04mins

05mins


IslandsTIME

orientation towers

projection screen

data servers

data servers

bars

auditorium

entrance

library

gallery

metromover

public space

entrance

bayfront park

parking

publicfacilites

offices

auditorium

bars

audio booths

parking

10 storeys

mixed use towers

nightclub

bayfront station

DR project

bayfront station

bayfront station

seating



orientation towers

projection screen

data servers

data servers

bars

auditorium

entrance

library

gallery

metromover

public space

entrance

bayfront park

parking

publicfacilites

offices

auditorium

bars

audio booths

parking

10 storeys

mixed use towers

nightclub

bayfront station

DR project

bayfront station

bayfront station

seating



Documents

Portfolio Jan 2012